Coppin's Brook
by Shanaar
Summary: Kaoru and Hikaru are sent to an English private school by their mother on a fact-finding expedition.  However, their time there turns out far more interesting than they would have imagined.  Somewhat OOC and AU; rated M for language and sexual content.


_It's a story. Hopefully. I'll try and keep updating it as often as I can so it shouldn't take too long for new chapters to emerge._

_As there's no space in the summary thing for this, main pairings are KaoruxOC, HikaruxKaoru, possibly HikaruxOC and maybe some other things depending on how twisted my mind is._

A small ball of paper bounced off Kaoru's cheek. He grabbed the paper and looked over to Hikaru, who smirked at him, before adopting an entirely fake expression of wounded innocence. Kaoru glowered at his twin, before flicking the paper back and returning his gaze to the window. A light drizzle drummed incessantly against the glass, and grey clouds hung low over the pastoral landscape.

As far as Kaoru was concerned this was the only weather England ever had, so he wasn't all that surprised. His mother had decided to enrol both of her sons in a private school in England, both to keep them away from her many business rivals, and also in a somewhat underhanded attempt to gain an inside knowledge of the Western fashion market. Because English boarding schools with their rigid quasi-Victorian uniforms were clearly the most sensible places for her to achieve this goal. Sometimes their mother could get carried away with grandiose schemes and lose sight of the actual realities of her ideas.

At first the twins had been angry at the idea, not wanting to leave the school they attended in Japan on their mother's whim, but as they were constantly reminded, they'd never really made any friends at school anyway, and the change of scenery might be interesting if nothing else.

Kaoru saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and looked around as Hikaru shuffled closer to him, resting his head on Kaoru's shoulder whilst fluttering his eyelashes. Kaoru huffed and heaved his brother off of him, before breaking into a grin and extending his arm around his brother's slender waist, pulling them back together.

"So, Hikaru. Are you looking forward to seeing this new school of ours?

"Well, it can't be any worse than sitting on a plane for 11 hours, and then another 4 in the back of this crappy limo. At least we can walk around in a school!" Kaoru turned to face his brother, moisture forming in his eyes.

"You mean you didn't enjoy the chance to spend an entire day gazing, longingly, at your beautiful brother without interruptions?" Hikaru put his hands gently on his younger brother's cheeks, and gazed into his eyes, unblinking.

"Oh, Kaoru, you know I love nothing better than to stare longingly at you. I'd just rather do it when I wasn't so stiff." Kaoru laughed and slapped his brother away.

"You're such a retard Hikaru. You're always stiff when you're looking at me – the plane had nothing to do with it." Kaoru briefly squeezed his arm tighter around his twin's waist, before looking back out of the window. Hikaru laughed along with his brother, and the two of them lapsed into silence, watching the countryside flash past as the sky brightened and the traffic increased.

Their flight had left Tokyo's Narita Airport at 3:27 Sunday morning, and because of the time differences had arrived in England a mere two hours later. It was now approaching 9am, and their limo was nearing it's destination. Kaoru watched as a large green truck drove past in the other direction, with a name written on the side in white letters. Kaoru turned to his brother.

"What's an Eddie Stobart?" Hikaru shrugged, and Kaoru turned back to the traffic.

"Hey, I've heard that we're going to have to sleep in a dormitory here."

"A dormitory? You've got to be joking. I hate sharing with people. Except you, Kaoru. I love sharing my bed with you."

"Yeah, there'll be like, 6 boys to each room. We all have our own bed, desk and wardrobe, but the bathroom is shared." Hikaru snorted in amusement.

"I guess at least one of us will be happy then – you can stare at naked boys all morning." Kaoru blushed slightly, before punching his brother on the arm. "How do you know all of this stuff anyway?"

Kaoru fished into his pocket with his free arm and dug out his phone; opening the browser and passing it to his brother. Hikaru looked briefly at the display, seeing the logo 'Coppin's Brook Preparatory and Secondary School' and a list of relevant. He laughed again and tossed the phone back to his younger brother.

"Trust you to actually do some research. The school has a stupid name, by the way."

"At least it's not called King Edward or something, like most other private schools in this country. You'd think they'd be a bit more creative around here, what with inventing the basis of most modern technology and all."

"You're such a dork, Kaoru." Hikaru reach over and tapped on the glass separating them from the driver. The man pressed a button in front of him and the glass slid down, allowing them to talk. "How far away are we, driver?"

"About 10 minutes, young master. We're approaching the school grounds now." Hikaru lent back into his brother, and the window closed again.

"Finally. I can get out of this damn car and walk around a bit." The driver turned off of the road, and drove towards a large cast iron gate, flanked by two large pillars. The words 'Institutionem, doctrinam illegitimi divitum gloria' could be seen engraved along the top of the gate. A statue stood atop each pillar, although of what, neither boy could say. As the driver pulled up, the gate swung open of it's own accord; it's passage marked by the soft squeaking of antique hinges.

Trees marched into the distance to either side of the road, and directly ahead a buildings could be seen; presumably the school itself. The limousine continued its lonely procession down the drive, the two boys inside peering out the window at the meadows surrounding them. Kaoru spotted a herd of deer and pointed them out to his brother.

"They let animals wander around the school? That's just weird."

"I doubt the deer actually go inside, Hikaru. Although it might be amusing if one wandered onto the cricket pitch."

"The cricket pitch?"

"This is England. What else are they gonna play around here?"

"Croquet?"

"Yeah, you can have that one." Hikaru laughed, before kicking his legs out along the seat and lying down with his head in Kaoru's lap. Kaoru absently rested his hand on Hikaru's face and fiddled with his hair, while watching the fauna wandering the meadow.

After a few minutes, the car pulled to a halt outside the entranceway to the school building, and Kaoru looked down at his brother, smiling as he stroked his hand along Hikaru's jawline, before poking him in the cheek.

"You're a lump, Hikaru. Get up, we're here." Hikaru glowered at his brother, but eventually heaved himself into a sitting position just as their driver came round and opened the door. Kaoru slid out first, his trainers crunching onto the gravel surrounding the front of the building. Hikaru followed, and went and stood beside his brother, looking up at the large edifice in front of them.

The building was constructed in a Georgian style; it's façade fronted by 6 levels of windows. A 7th level protruded from the roof, presumably forming some sort of attic. The motto from the gates was again engraved onto the lintel of the main doorway, an impressive construction wide enough to drive the limousine through. A short flight of curved steps ascended to the door itself.

The twins looked at each other briefly, before walking slowly towards the steps. They were both dressed, naturally, in clothes designed by their mother: A light jumper with a loose neck, a tight t-shirt underneath it and some skinny dark blue jeans. The only difference between the two was that Kaoru's jumper was a dark crimson, and Hikaru's simply black. Best to give people some chance of telling them apart, after all. They both wore white trainers, and a white belt was assigned the futile task of keeping their jeans at a level an adult would approve of. As they climbed the steps, some dark blue boxer-briefs could be seen above the belt. That particular detail wasn't from their mother.

As they passed inside, a woman approached them from a doorway directly ahead. A large, elegant staircase descended either side of this doorway and along the walls of the room. Two more doors left the entrance hall on either side near the bottom of the stairs, and a fourth door could be seen at the top of the stairs. A dark green carpet ran up the stairway, but the floor itself was panelled in a dark mahogany. A statue, presumably of a knight or some such figure, stood to adjacent to the bottom of each set of stairs. The stairs clashed with Kaoru's jumper.

The woman approaching looked a bit taken aback at their nearly identical appearance, but quickly reclaimed her frosty expression as she marched up to the two boys.

"What on god's earth are you two wearing? I'm to take you to see Headmaster Minass at once. Your possessions will be taken to your room whilst you are there. I'll be sure to include several uniforms for you as well. Follow me. Don't touch anything." The woman turned around brusquely and marched away. Hikaru flipped her off behind her back, grinned at Kaoru and then set off after her, listening to her muttering something about 'damn scruffy lowlifes'. Kaoru just shook his head in amusement at his brother's antics.

She went over to the staircase on the left. The twins glanced at each other, Kaoru winked, and set off to the right. Hikaru followed the woman. The carpet of the stairs was soft underneath their feet, and they left slight footprints as they walked. Kaoru walked somewhat quicker than the woman, and reached the doorway before her. He stopped, grinned like an idiot and waved at her. She ignored him completely and walked through the door, turning to her left as she did so. Kaoru laughed and resumed following her, at a distance.

They walked into a small corridor, with mahogany panelling along the walls and ceiling and the same green carpet along the floor. At marked intervals along the walls a painting or indent containing some vase or bust could be seen. Yellow spotlights were fitted into the ceiling, but the corridor remained relatively dark. Towards the end of the corridor the woman stopped at a door, and knocked loudly.

A voice from inside muttered 'come in', and the woman swung the door open, beckoning the boys inside before closing it and disappearing into the depths of the school. The twins were left in a surprisingly large and well decorated office. Several sofas and an armchair sat around a low table in front of them, and a fireplace stood on the wall to their right. To the left was a desk, with two windows behind it. Two ceiling fans sat idle, leaving the boys wondering if it ever got warm enough in this country for their use to be required. Several bookcases lined the walls, and a middle-aged man placed a book in one, before turning to face the two boys.

"You must be Hikaru and Kaoru. I can see I'm going to have trouble telling you apart, so you must forgive me for my negligence in that area if I am ever incorrect. For now though, please, take a seat." The man beckoned to two chairs positioned in front of the desk, before sitting down at a much larger chair himself. "I am Professor Aaron Minass, and welcome to my school, Coppin's Brook. Now, you're here on the personal request of your somewhat influential mother, but I see no reason as to why you wouldn't be welcome here without her help – your grades in Japan would imply you're both intelligent students and so you shouldn't have too many troubles with your studies here as long as you work hard and follow the rules.

"Coppin's Brook was founded in 1786 by Lord Edward Coppin as a school primarily to train the young nobility in mathematics, etiquette and language, usually to pursue a career in the military. In fact, several of the school's graduates served as Post-Captains in the Napoleonic Wars, if the pair of you are aware of English history. In fact, our first head boy was made an Admiral in 1813. But anyway, I digress. Since then the school has drifted away somewhat from it's military heritage, and is now a school for the richer families of England, as well as providing scholarships for some of the intellectually brilliant." The twins looked at each as Minass spoke, raising eyebrows. The man certainly could blather on about nothing of consequence.

"You two will join classes with the year 8 students tomorrow morning at 8:30. Lessons are timetabled until 17:30, with an hour and a half break for lunch. However, you will also have free periods, in which you are expected to complete assignments and read around the subjects. It will be up to you to choose how to spend this time though, and as long as your work is done and your grades satisfactory, the school will not interfere. You'll find your timetables in your room, along with your personal belongings.

"The school offers a chapel service every Sunday at 10am which you are welcome to attend, although it is by no means compulsory. Finally, you are of course expected to convey yourself with the dignity and decorum expected of the most upstanding citizens that you undoubtedly are. Any... indiscretions will be reported directly to me, and depending on the severity of the cause I may request your presence here to discuss your behaviour. Teachers are, of course, entitled to deal with problems in their own classes as they see fit."

Just as the Headmaster finished his monologue, a somewhat softer knock than before sounded on the door, and a boy of age with the twins walked in, closing the door behind him and walking up to the desk.

"Ah, Granger. Your sense of timing is truly impeccable. These two gentlemen here will be taking up the two beds in your dormitory. I would be most pleased if you would escort them their now. I trust that you will make them feel most welcome. You all may go." The boy nodded.

"Yes, Headmaster, thank you." He beckoned to the twins, who stood up and followed him out of the office.

"You two look exactly the same. That's just fucked up, man." The boy looked amused as he walked quickly back down the corridor toward the entrance hall. Instead of turning right though, he carried straight on. "My name is Alex, Alex Granger. I've been in this school since I was five, so you could say that I know my way around a bit. In fact, everyone in our dormitory has been here since then, except Josh. He joined last year. We're all in year 8, and mostly have the same classes, so I expect we'll be able to show you two the metaphorical ropes. They're not allowed to use the actual ropes anymore. Apparently it's illegal. Anyway, I'm told I talk to much and swear even more, so I'll let you two lovelies talk a bit.

Alex stopped talking suddenly, and looked back to the twins, who seemed a little alarmed at being told to 'just talk'. Alex was a little shorter than twins, with messy dark brown hair and brown eyes. Kaoru thought that the hair was messy on purpose though, as opposed to just neglected. He also noted that the uniform Alex was wearing accentuated his body in all the places it needed accentuating, as it were. Looking back up, he caught Alex winking at him and blushed slightly. Alex laughed and turned back round to look where he was going, narrowly avoiding a large urn protruding somewhat from it's alcove.

"You two aren't talking. Come on, where are you from, why are you here..."

"We're twins. Identical, if that wasn't obvious. I'm Kaoru, that's Hikaru. We're from Japan, and were sent here because our mother likes money."

"Well, she must be hoping for a long term investment then. The amount this place charges is fucking astronomical." He paused for a few seconds. "It seems like I'm going to be doing most of the talking then. Not that I mind at all. I take it Small-arse gave you his usual speech about the history of the place and all that shit?"

"Small-arse?" Kaoru asked.

"Yeah. Minass, mini-ass. It was funny at the time, and sorta stuck. Don't let any teachers catch you calling him that though."

"Oh, right; yes he did tell us about the history, as well as what we were expected to do each week and how he'd strip us naked and beat us in his office if we misbehave."

"So you do have a sense of humour. That's fortunate!"

"Just you wait and see." Both twins announced in perfect synchronisation. Alex turned round with an eyebrow raised before stumbling over a step. He coughed awkwardly as he righted himself.

"That's some creepy shit you've got going on there. And don't laugh, I knew that step was there. You two should do fine in our room. Some of the guys are a bit hostile to people they don't trust, but I don't think you'll have too many problems."

"We can't hold that against anyone. If we don't like someone, we'll make their life a living hell." Alex pretended to fan his face furiously, flapping the neck of his sweater up and down.

"I guess I'll just have to make sure I don't get on your bad side!" He exclaimed, before laughing heartily and turning to his left so sharply he nearly crashed into a door frame. The twins found themselves on a stairway that was somewhat less majestic than that of the entrance hall, but still fairly grand. Kaoru's jumper still had issues with the carpet. Hikaru leant over to Kaoru and whispered to him.

"Is it me or is this guy a little clumsy?"

"I was thinking insane more than clumsy, if I'm honest. Still, it makes a nice change from the vapid social élite in Japan. This guy seems as if he could manage to stretch to pleasant company."

"Kaoru? You're not thinking of leaving me, are you?" Kaoru reached over and grabbed Hikaru's hand, reaching over with his other to stroke his face.

"Oh, Hikaru my love, I could never leave you." The two stopped walking, seemingly oblivious of their surroundings, and gazed longingly into each other's eyes.

"Umm, are you guys going to be buggering each other at night? If so, you mind doing it outside the dorm? Sleeping is nice." Kaoru burst into laughter, doubling over and clutching at the bannister. Hikaru started giggling, but blushed a little and toed the stair above him. Kaoru stood back up, and set his face completely straight.

"Actually, me and Hikaru tend to sleep in the same bed back home. Would that be a problem here?"

"Shit, I can't even tell if you two are joking or not any more. You do what you like, just don't wake any of us up with it..."

"I think we'll just leave you wondering. It's more fun that way." Alex shook his head in apparent disgust as he turned off the stairwell on the fourth floor, entering into another corridor similar to the one downstairs. He turned to the right and then after passing a few doors by, brought out a key and unlocked a door on the right hand side of the corridor, beckoning for the twins to proceed him into the room.

The room was large, larger than Kaoru had expected. Three windows looked out over the rest of the school, and beds were arrayed around the room, two along the wall to his right, three along the back wall and one on his left. A square had been cut out of the near-left corner, presumably to house the bathroom. A large, gold-embossed mirror filled the wall in between the beds to the right, and on the left, a portrait of a man with an abnormally large nose rose above the solitary bed.

One other boy was in the room, and he was bent over next to his bed, searching for something in the bottom of his wardrobe. He was also wearing the school uniform, but Kaoru found his eyes drawn to the bright cyan boxer-briefs he could clearly see, which stood out in total contrast to the dour colours of the uniform and the moderated tones of the room. Hikaru nudged Kaoru with his elbow, a grin on his face, and winked slyly. Kaoru blushed a deep red, but returned his grin nonetheless.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, that's Josh's arse." The boy looked around upon hearing his name, and grinned. "And that, is the rest of Josh. Josh – Kaoru's in red, Hikaru in black." Josh stood up straight, his gaze passing over the twins critically for a few seconds. Kaoru met his eyes at one point, but quickly looked away, the image of the boy bent over flashing unwanted to the surface. Aside from vibrant underwear, Josh had black hair which was brushed neatly across one of his eyes, hiding it somewhat from view. His eyes were a deep, piercing blue, and looked frankly intimidating to Kaoru for the brief moment their gazes met. His skin was a pale white, but virtually flawless, and his cheek-bones framed his features nicely. Kaoru blushed again, looking away to the well dressed figure in the painting for no real reason.

Josh looked Kaoru dead in the eye, before snaking his hand under his jumper, pushing it up a little and exposing some of his abdomen. He idly scratched at it, before withdrawing his hand. The jumper didn't fall back down. He held Kaoru's gaze, keeping the younger Hitachiin practically mesmerised, for a few more seconds, before nodding, seemingly to himself, and turning back to his wardrobe. He rummaged around for a few seconds, before clearly finding the object of his search. Spinning round, he produced a large water pistol and a shit-eating grin, as he sprayed a torrent of water all over the twins, thoroughly soaking them both.

"I love it when boys I've just met get all wet for me." The twins looked utterly shocked for a few seconds, before regaining their composure and running straight for their tormentor, determined to drench him as well. Josh shouted in alarm, before back-pedalling around the room, maintaining the stream from the water pistol. After a few seconds though, he tripped up over a discarded article of clothing, falling flat on his back. The stream of water continued straight up into the air, narrowly missing the ceiling.

"You're gonna get it now!" Hikaru announced, before mercilessly tickling Josh's feet. Kaoru jumped on top of the grounded boy, wrestling with him for possession of the offending water-based weaponry. Josh screamed in laughter, his feet jerking all over as he tried to pull them away from Hikaru. Kaoru rolled over him, still struggling with the water pistol, as most of the room got soaked.

Eventually Kaoru managed to wrest the water pistol away from Josh, quickly turning it on it's owner and spraying water all over him. He then threw the pistol away and lay where he was, breathing heavily.

"Oh, you're squirting in my face now Kaoru? This day gets better and better." Kaoru giggled, but stayed where he was, lying on his front over Josh's abdomen and breathing deeply. He could feel the rapid breath of the boy beneath him as well.

"Are you two gonna get off of each other, or should me and Hikaru here leave the room for a while?" Kaoru sighed and pushed himself off of Josh and onto his hands and knees, looking down at the entirely exposed stomach beneath him. The boy was slender, but his muscles were clearly defined, and it appeared that he was fairly active; probably a swimmer. Kaoru dragged his hands back towards him, ensuring one lightly ran over Josh's body, which shivered gently at the touch. He winked at Josh, and Josh carried on smiling absently, as if he wasn't really paying attention to what Alex was saying, before sitting up himself.

"So, new roommates. Hi – keep touching me all the time and I'm sure we'll get on just fine! James and Zack have gone off to work in the libary; they'll probably be back in a few hours, so you'll have to wait before meeting them. You two have got the two beds over by the mirror – your crap has already been put in the wardrobe, and your timetables are on your desks. I suggest you go and get changed; they do room inspections every now and then on weekends and it'd be easier on all of us if you weren't caught in mufti. Towels are in the bathroom if you want to dry off. Although I'd rather you did so out here." He winked at Kaoru, before fluttering his eyelashes cheekily.

The twins strolled over to their desks, grabbing their timetables before they both went and sat down next to each other on Hikaru's bed. Josh bounded over and knelt down behind the two of them, draping an arm over their shoulders. He studied the timetables as he absently rubbed their sides.

"Yeah, you two've got pretty much the same as all of us do, although none of us are taking ancient history here on Monday and there on Wednesday, so you're on your own for that. Otherwise, just follow us lot around and you won't be too late for anything. Usually. Now, go get changed whilst I sit here and watch."

"Fucking hell Josh, you've barely met them and you're all over them like a bad case of herpes. Do try and control yourself a little."

"You're such a spoilsport, Alex; I can't help being so loveable. Besides, they clearly don't mind..." The twins found several uniforms hung up neatly in their wardrobe, along with the other clothes they brought along. Kaoru took the damp clothes he'd been wearing off and threw them into a box sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe, presumably for their laundry. His body itself wasn't that wet, so he simply pulled the uniform shorts off their hanger, slipping into them quickly. The shirt and jumper followed suit, before he sat down on the bed and pulled up the knee-high socks, putting the polished shoes on last. He walked back over to Hikaru's bed, where his twin was studying the timetable again, already dressed. Kaoru sat down and, forgetting their company, rested his head on his brother's shoulder. Hikaru's free hand snaked around his waist.

"Oh wow, they touch each other as well! I think we've hit the roommate jackpot, huh Alex?" Alex sighed, and the twins looked up, amusement written across their features.

"Josh, you're obscene. But yeah, you two are definitely more fun to be around than the guys who got kicked out last year. This year might actually be a good one!"

"They got kicked out? What did they do?"

"They tried to rape some girls." Both of the twin's eyebrows shot up, an identical look of shock plastered on their faces.

"Sheesh, I wasn't expecting that." Kaoru muttered. "That sort of thing happens a lot here?"

"God no. It was the first time in 25 years that someone was actually expelled. They kept a close eye on us for the rest of them term, just in case we were involved. The girls had to attend councilling, although as they were found before anything too untoward happened, I don't think they had any problems." The room fell silent for a minute, the twins sharing a nervous glance.

"Well that kinda killed the mood..." Josh laughed nervously, before perking up noticeably "You guys want to go get some lunch? I'll show you around the canteen!" The black haired boy pushed himself off the bed he'd been sitting on, disappearing out of the room without waiting for an answer.

"I suppose lunch is a sensible idea." Alex adopted a sullen expression, glaring at Josh's receding back. "You two coming?" Both twins nodded, and moved to follow their roommate. The four boys walked back to the entrance hall, turning left at the bottom of the stairs and into a large dining hall, filled with several rows of tables and a kitchen on the far side. Several students were queued up in front of the kitchen, clearly waiting for their lunch.

Josh led the way to the back of the queue, carefully navigating the maze of thrust out chairs and tables. He nodded to a few students as he walked past their tables, but otherwise ignored the majority of the room. The twins got a few odd glances as they walked down the room, but no-one deigned to speak to them.

"So, umm, how does this work here? In Japan we either bring our own lunch in or go and buy food around the city."

"Oh, you just pick something you want and they'll serve it to you. Deserts are on those shelves over there. You don't need to pay or anything – just grab as much as you want and wander off with it. We're not allowed to take the food out of the canteen though."

Kaoru looked over the food on offer, before settling on the same steak with mashed potato and baked beans Hikaru had chosen. The woman serving the counter dumped his request somewhat unceremoniously on a plate, before turning to the student behind him. He paused momentarily to relieve the shelves of a chocolate cake, before following his brother to a table Alex had chosen in the middle of the left side of the room. He sat down next to his older brother before eagerly tucking in to his food.

"So, exactly how identical are you two? I mean, you both look just as hot as each other, naturally, but you even chose the same lunch." Hikaru looked up from his meal.

"Well, we have our differences I suppose but for the most part there's not much to tell us apart – I mean, if you separated us and then asked us to pick our lunches, I can almost guarantee you we'd pick the same thing every time."

"Wow. Surely that must get a bit annoying after a while?"

"Not really. I guess we've gotten used to it; it's always been like that for us. It can be reassuring actually, knowing that someone else is always going to feel the same way about anything as you. I wouldn't have wanted to come all the way over the England and attend a school I'd never even heard of if I didn't have Kaoru to fall back on." As his brother spoke, Kaoru turned to face him and stuck his tongue out, grinning like an idiot, before wrapping his arm around Hikaru's waist and resting his hand on his upper thigh. With his other hand, he patted Hikaru on the head repeatedly.

"It's ok Hikaru. You know I'm here for you always. The big scary English people won't get you."

"You're a dick, Kaoru." Kaoru laughed, before dropping his hand to jostle Hikaru's shoulder. He went back to eating his lunch, but kept his left arm draped around his brother. Josh stopped with his fork half way to his mouth, feigned expressions of lust and jealously warring beneath the cheeky smile on his face. Alex jabbed Josh in the ribs with his elbow, muttering something that sounded like 'pervert', and Josh shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, before continuing to eat his lunch in silence.

"New kids huh? I take it they're in our dorm?" A tall blonde boy with light green eyes sat down next to Josh, carrying a precariously balanced tray with two plates full of food on it. He looked at the twins before starting his lunch; a look of suspicion and slight hostility.

"Yeah, that's Kaoru, hugging Hikaru. They're identical! They came here because their mother likes money, apparently. Yeah, I still haven't figured her logic out yet either. Kaoru, Hikaru, this is James. He likes to pretend he's all cool and sultry, but he's not very good at it. Be nice to them James, I quite like them." The twins looked at Alex oddly as he gave the rather unorthodox introduction.

"Hmphh. It's nice to meet you, I suppose." James nodded tersely towards them, before dropping his head and focussing on his food.

"Hey, James, what did you do with Zack? He killed himself rather than have to face a few hours alone with you, didn't he?" James' composure fought a losing battle with the corners of his mouth, and a faint smile broke out.

"He jumped into the ice-cold torrent of the brook. I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do for him." He quickly replaced the smile with a look of deep, aching sadness, before going back to this food, seemingly unconcerned. After a few seconds, he added "He went off with Lucy somewhere to study for his Latin exam."

"There are exams already? Terms only just started!" Hikaru looked a little alarmed.

"Oh, yeah. Some classes run examinations at the beginning of term to organise the classes into groups of similar ability. It doesn't make too much difference what set you're in; each group is given their own learning assistant and subtly different assignments, but the majority of the lesson is taught by the same teacher at the same time. Oh, crap. I forgot I was meant to be ignoring you two."

"That was shit, James. You lasted what, two minutes? I could have done a better job than that. Hell, Josh could have done a better job than that!"

"Shut it, Alex. Like hell you could. And I doubt Josh managed to go half that without touching them up..." Josh giggled at that, and Kaoru looked down into his lap nervously. "Hah! Might have known. I'd watch out for that one, Kaoru. He's not the sort to stay in the same place for a long time, if you know what I mean." He nudged Josh in the ribs, a smile on his face; a smile that abruptly fell when he saw Josh's expression.

"Fuck off, James." He jumped up, shouting, and smashed his hands down onto the table to emphasise the second word. He sighed loudly, looking around at the boys surrounding him, before pushing his seat back. "I'm going outside. I left something there earlier." He turned abruptly, and marched out of the dining hall without looking back. James was left looking stunned and horrified.

"What did I do? He makes jokes about that all the time!" Alex looked at James' confusion, exasperation clear in his bearing.

"For someone who's supposed to be clever, James, you're a total retard sometimes."

"What? I don't get this at all."

"Nevermind." Alex shook his head in despair.

"Umm, should I go and find him?" Kaoru was also confused by Josh's actions – minutes ago the boy had been flirting playfully as if he hadn't a care in the world.

"No, don't worry about it you two. I'll go have a talk with him; I think I know where he'll have gone. I'll meet you all back at the room – I'm sure James will take you there if you can't remember the way."

Alex walked out of the canteen and through the door under the stairs. He had to admit, he himself was rather shocked at the way Josh had reacted. James had been right – the boy made jokes about his wandering attentions all the time. Alex had an idea, though. He just didn't want to say anything unless Josh confirmed it of his own volition.

Alex stepped out of the school building, into a large quadrangle. A gravel path ran around the outside, and a small stream surged out of the ground in front of him, neatly splitting the central grassy area in two. A bridge crossed the stream at the opposite end of the courtyard, whilst the stream continued out under an arch into the rest of the school's gardens. A large statue of Viscount Nelson stood in the centre, raised on four legs above the stream, thrusting its lone arm skyward. Someone had mentioned that he'd become a patron for the school before his death in Trafalgar.

Cutting across the grass, he headed for the arch opposite him, where a narrow walkway flanked the stream on either side. Beyond the building, the stream rolled down a steep hillside, swinging off to the left before changing its mind and flowing off to the right once it reached the bottom of the hill. A path followed the stream down the bank, with trees and shrubbery carelessly placed in the vicinity. Forgoing the path, Alex made his way down the steep bank, passing around a large rock. Josh was sitting with his back to the rock, watching the stream bubble endlessly past in front of him.

"Hey." Josh looked up as his friend sat down next to him, staying silent for a few minutes as they both observed the passage of time, reflected in the lively waters of the stream. The sun was still trapped behind the oppressive clouds, but the waters sparkled in the light, entrancing the two boys in stillness.

"Are you alright, Josh?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry I ran away like that – it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. It's just... I knew that someone was going to say something like that, yet I hoped so dearly they wouldn't. It was just - when James did - it was just one of those moments that I thought I might as well give up. It was like he crushed it before it could even start."

"It's ok, I think. James just looked confused, and the twins were a little concerned but no harm was done. If you want to talk about it, why were you so concerned about what James said?" Josh just shook his head slowly, before leaning back against the rock, and gazing off over the school grounds. For a while, Alex watched the reflection of the sky shifting lazily across the skittering water. The clouds were beginning to break up, and every now and then the sun could be seen, peaking out from behind its cover.

He slid his arm behind Josh's neck and squeezed his shoulder – not pressing him for an answer, but simply reassuring him that he was ready to listen. Josh leaned slightly closer, and both of them closed their eyes, content to wait a while longer.

"I like him. I like Kaoru. And James went and made me look like some kind of whore in front of both of them. I don't even know why I like him! I just met the two of them for Christ's sake; I barely even know them. When he was lying on top of me – if you hadn't said anything, I'd have just lain there all afternoon. I didn't realise you had said anything until after he got up. It's not normal, to be like this over someone you met 3 hours ago, is it?"

"It's not normal, Josh, but there's nothing wrong with it either. It happens to lots of people – falling for someone you've only just met. All you can do is stay close to them, to be their friend, and then maybe with time their feelings can grow to mirror yours. You can't expect anything to happen overnight though. Think about it, though – Kaoru clearly enjoys you being close to him; he never made any moves to shrug off your touches. Just, be around him, get to know him and be there for him if needs you, and I think there might be something there you can make the most of. I wouldn't worry about what James said, either. Neither of the twins looked remotely fazed by it." Josh looked around and smiled.

"Wow Alex, I didn't know you had it in you."

"Prick. That doesn't mean it's gonna be easy for you though – it might seem like he barely pays you any attention at all, but he has only just met you; even if you don't think of that at all." Alex nudged Josh in the ribs, and he nodded to himself. "Come on then, lets go back to the room. It's freezing out here anyway."

Kaoru lifted his head up from Hikaru's lap as the door opened. Hikaru was sat on his bed, reading a book he'd brought over from Japan and playing with Kaoru's hair, whilst his brother dozed idly, feet dangling over the end of the bed. James was sat at his desk, working on some assignment or other; he hadn't said much since they'd headed back to their room.

Alex wandered over to speak with James; the two of them leaned in close to keep whatever was said private. Josh looked like a startled deer for a moment, before closing the door and walking over to the twins. Clearing his expression, he lay on his side on the bed, facing the twins, before casually throwing his legs over Kaoru's.

"Sorry about that earlier. I was being a bit of an idiot. You still love me, right?" He asked, fluttering his eyelashes endearingly. Kaoru poked him hard in the ribs.

"You are a bit stupid, but I'll let you off. Everything ok now?"

"Yep, as long as we don't move for a while." With that, Josh shuffled closer, until his head was on Hikaru's lap, facing Kaoru. He grinned, and threw an arm over the twin in front of him. Hikaru grunted in disapproval but made no move to dislodge the offending burden. Josh watched happily as Kaoru's tired eyelids began to droop, and the younger twin drifted off to sleep.

_For those interested and not from England 'an Eddie Stobart' is actually a company of moderately iconic lorries that tend to drive around all over England - it's fairly common to bump into one on the motorway (not literally. That wouldn't end well.)_

_Am I obliged to say I don't own Eddie Stobart? If I am, then I don't ;)_

_This is not an entirely accurate representation of a modern British boarding school, although it's close enough that it could be feasible. _


End file.
